Public bug reported: Binary package hint: coreutils
When tail -f has inotify enabled and hits the max_user_watches limit of inotify, the resulting error message is very misleading. To reproduce: 1) Make sure you will hit the limit if you try another inotify request sudo sh -c 'echo 10 > /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches' 2) Create a file: touch /tmp/hello 3) Follow it: tail -f /tmp/hello Result: tail: cannot watch `/tmp/hello': No space left on device Expected result: tail: cannot watch '/tmp/hello' because inotify reported: No space left on device It can be verified by using strace tail -f /tmp/hello: inotify_add_watch(4, "/tmp/hello", IN_MODIFY|IN_ATTRIB|IN_DELETE_SELF|IN_MOVE_SELF) = -1 ENOSPC (No space left on device) --- Architecture: amd64 CheckboxSubmission: c61c47905a08381ec5d89e05cd06d034 CheckboxSystem: d00f84de8a555815fa1c4660280da308 DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.10 InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" - Beta amd64 (20100901.1) NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia Package: coreutils 8.5-1ubuntu3 PackageArchitecture: amd64 ProcEnviron: PATH=(custom, user) LANG=en_US.utf8 SHELL=/bin/bash ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.35-24.42-generic 2.6.35.8 Tags: maverick Uname: Linux 2.6.35-24-generic x86_64 UserGroups: adm admin cdrom dialout lpadmin plugdev sambashare ** Affects: coreutils (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Tags: apport-collected ** Tags added: apport-collected ** Description changed: Binary package hint: coreutils When tail -f has inotify enabled and hits the max_user_watches limit of inotify, the resulting error message is very misleading. To reproduce: 1) Make sure you will hit the limit if you try another inotify request sudo sh -c 'echo 10 > /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches' 2) Create a file: touch /tmp/hello 3) Follow it: tail -f /tmp/hello Result: tail: cannot watch `/tmp/hello': No space left on device Expected result: tail: cannot watch '/tmp/hello' because inotify reported: No space left on device It can be verified by using strace tail -f /tmp/hello: inotify_add_watch(4, "/tmp/hello", IN_MODIFY|IN_ATTRIB|IN_DELETE_SELF|IN_MOVE_SELF) = -1 ENOSPC (No space left on device) + --- + Architecture: amd64 + CheckboxSubmission: c61c47905a08381ec5d89e05cd06d034 + CheckboxSystem: d00f84de8a555815fa1c4660280da308 + DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.10 + InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" - Beta amd64 (20100901.1) + NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia + Package: coreutils 8.5-1ubuntu3 + PackageArchitecture: amd64 + ProcEnviron: + PATH=(custom, user) + LANG=en_US.utf8 + SHELL=/bin/bash + ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.35-24.42-generic 2.6.35.8 + Tags: maverick + Uname: Linux 2.6.35-24-generic x86_64 + UserGroups: adm admin cdrom dialout lpadmin plugdev sambashare -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/700958 Title: tail -f gives misleading error message when inotify limit is reached -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs